Serious Harm Procedure – Notification

Incidents and accidents that have resulted in serious harm or potential serious harm to any person must be immediately reported to the Health Safety and Wellness Manager in order to ascertain the nature and severity of the event. The Head of Department, and Dean / Director shall be informed as soon as practicable.

Such events require immediate notification to the Department of Labour (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment) and no interference with the accident scene.

The Health, Safety and Wellness Manager will contact the Department of Labour to report the serious harm accident and to seek clearance of the accident scene. In their absence, the Senior Manager or nominated person of the faculty or service division will make this call.

The Department of Labour can be contacted on 0800 20 90 20.

Written notification of an accident resulting in serious harm will be compiled and sent to the Department of Labour within 7 days of the event. This form will be completed by the Health, Safety and Wellness Manager. In their absence the Senior Manager or nominated person of the faculty of service division will complete the documentation.

Students/Visitors/Honorary Staff members

The University of Auckland will notify the Department of Labour of every occurrence of serious harm that occurs to a student/visitor/honorary staff member while at a University of Auckland campus, a University of Auckland controlled entity, or whilst undertaking any University-sanctioned activity.

The manager/supervisor/host responsible for such persons or specific work area will immediately report such occurrences to the Health, Safety and Wellness Manager.

Notification Procedure for Contractors - The University's Role

Self-employed Contractors

The University of Auckland will notify the Department of Labour of every occurrence of serious harm that occurs to a self-employed contractor engaged and contracted by The University of Auckland while undertaking work at a University of Auckland campus, a University of Auckland controlled entity, or whilst undertaking any University-sanctioned activity.

The manager responsible for the self-employed contractor will immediately report such occurrences to the Health, Safety and Wellness Manager.

Reporting Serious Harm for employee's of Contractors

In the event that an employee of a contractor suffers an accident resulting in serious harm while undertaking work for the University of Auckland, it is the legal responsibilty of that contractor to notify the Department of Labour and seek a scene clearance. The University of Aucklands role is to ensure that the contractor has undertaken this notification and to assist with preserving the accident scene and providing any reasonable support to protect people, vital utilities, property and assistance with Dept of Labour investigations.

The university manager responsible for the contractor / project will immediately report such occurrences to the Health, Safety and Wellness Manager.

No interference to the accident scene

Accidents that result in serious harm to a person require notification to the Department of Labour by phone or fax as soon as possible. The investigating authority (Health and Safety Inspector at the Department of Labour) when informed will advise what needs to be done, and whether or not the accident scene can be cleared. Verification of the clearance must be noted by the University manager reporting the event. Remember to note the Inspector’s name and the time, date and a brief summary of their instructions.

Instances when the accident scene must definitely not be interfered with:

where a machine has contributed to a serious harm injury to an individual, do not alter controls, set ups or guarding

where there has been a death

where a person has fallen from a ladder, scaffold or any work at heights

injury or illness that requires hospitalisation.

Accident scenes can be altered for the following explicit conditions:

to save the life of, prevent harm to, or relieve the suffering of, any person

to maintain the access of the general public to an essential service or utility (such as water, electricity or gas)

to prevent serious damage to or serious loss of property.

As some accidents or serious harm injuries, illnesses or diseases do not involve an accident scene as such, the event must be notified in writing on the prescribed form within 7 days of the event.

Maritime Accidents resulting in serious harm injury

All accidents resulting in serious harm to any person while operating on or around a vessel/boat must be reported to Maritime NZ as soon as practicable after the event. This means after you have secured the safety of people, your boat and the environment, and when you have communication available.

The owner or skipper of the vessel must report this to Maritime NZ and complete the required documentation.

Legislative Requirements

Various government agencies have certain accident notification requirements as set down by legislation. These dictate what we must record and report for various accidents, illnesses, diseases or near misses.

Detailed below is the key legislation, government agencies that require notification, and records of various incidents.

Government agencies:

Definitions

Accident

In terms of the Health and Safety in Employment Act this can have quite a wide meaning.

"Accident" means an event that:

causes any person to be harmed

in different circumstances, might have caused any person to be harmed

where a person’s injury has resulted in harm or serious harm.

Please note: occupational disease and illness are included in this criteria.

Incident

Where someone has seen, been involved, or had occur to them a near miss.

Such events would be slipping on a floor, which resulted in no fall or injury, or suffering a burn from cooking fats which only required minor first aid and no medical treatment from a doctor.

Verbal abuse by someone or a minor chemical spill that caused no injury however evacuated a lab.

Minor electrical shock.

Fire incidents that resulted in no evacuation.

Where someone has noticed or is experiencing discomfort or pain when using their computer or undertaking repetitive tasks.

Harm

Means illness, injury, or both and

includes physical or mental harm caused by work-related stress.

Hazard

means an activity, arrangement, circumstance, event, occurrence, phenomenon, process, situation, or substance (whether arising or caused within or outside a place of work) that is an actual or potential cause or source of harm and

includes:

a situation where a person’s behaviour may be an actual, potential cause or source of harm to the person or another person and

without limitation, a situation described in the above subparagraph resulting from physical or mental fatigue, drugs, alcohol, traumatic shock or another temporary condition that affects a person’s behaviour.

Significant Hazard

Means a hazard that is an actual or potential cause or source of:

serious harm or

harm (being harm that is more than trivial) where the severity of effects on any person depend (entirely or among other things) on the extent or frequency of the person’s exposure to the hazard or

harm that does not usually occur, or usually is not easily detectable, until a significant time after exposure to the hazard.